


Wanderer

by loving_desperation



Category: Dramarama - Monsta X (Music Video), Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, M/M, Time Travel, i really don't know how to tag this, it's the fucking music video tbh, kind of?, the relationships are mostly platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loving_desperation/pseuds/loving_desperation
Summary: Now all that was left was to push the pieces into place.--It's the music video as a story. That's all really.





	Wanderer

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written for Monsta X before so...idk if these are accurate portrayals but the music video inspired me so here it is.

**Year 2017**

The rich scent of coffee beans permeated the air, filling up the small café with a warm, comforting aroma. The smell was heady and intoxicating for Hyungwon, a luxury he had long forgotten after the whole trade debacle a decade ago closed most negotiations with other countries. Coffee was a rare comfort where he was from. There was nothing particularly special about this café, other places probably offering higher quality coffee, but Hyungwon liked the irony of the name of this place – _Traveler._

Crossing one leg over the other comfortably, Hyungwon allowed his guard to slip a little; eyes fluttering shut as he tipped his head back ever so slightly. Inhaling deeply, Hyungwon listened to the pleasantly soothing piano track playing from the speaker, allowing it to filter through his strained nerves, bleeding the tension from his muscles a little. Things were so peaceful here.

“Sir?” A soft voice spoke to Hyungwon’s right. Eyes snapping open, Hyungwon locked gazes with the young server smiling hesitantly down at him. Straightening in his seat, Hyungwon adjusted his suit’s sleeves from where they had slightly ridden up his arms. 

“Here’s your coffee,” the server continued despite Hyungwon’s lack of verbal response. “Please enjoy.”

Hyungwon’s fingers danced across the cheap ceramic mug, brushing feather-light over where the server’s hand had been moments before. Shards of memories, hopes, dreams, plans filtered through Hyungwon’s mind in a split second, coming to settle on a youthful face that beamed at Hyungwon – no, at the server – from his memory.

A name popped to the forefront of Hyungwon’s mind. _Changkyun._

More memories filtered through, these ones plagued by confusion, sadness, loss, frustration. The details of Changkyun’s face filtered away slowly like water through a child’s clumsy fingers. The features blurred slowly at first until they melded into something of a vague recollection of the boy’s visage.

Perfect.

Hyungwon brought the steaming mug to his plush lips and took a tentative sip. The light brown liquid burned at his lips and tongue, warning him that it was still too hot to drink; but Hyungwon did not have the luxury of hanging around in one place to wait for his drink to cool. The robust burst of flavor on his taste buds was worth the momentary sting of scorched lips. His coffee was cheap here, delicious and foreign and comforting – he would not pass on this chance to enjoy himself.

Things had been perfectly fine for him in this time, peaceful and unaware of his existence – until they weren’t. Thankfully, the gentleman sitting next to him had a newspaper held in front of his face, the title page showing only a small blurb about Hyungwon’s presence that most would likely skim over with the thought of it possibly being fake or some type of movie review.

He had tests to perform and nosy reporters or those pesky government agents from Hyungwon’s time could not jeopardize things. The coffee was a pleasant distraction from all of his troubles, but the mug was already half empty and Hyungwon’s lips were starting to ache from the burn of drinking his beverage too soon.

Glancing sideways as he continued to sip at his drink, Hyungwon watched the young server fill another mug with coffee behind the counter. He then carried it over on a tray accompanied by some kind of pastry to the man with the paper a table over from Hyungwon. Glancing back down at his now empty mug, Hyungwon sighed quietly, wistfully, and placed the little mug back onto the saucer it had been delivered on. Things were so different here, so untroubled compared to what was to come.

Leaving the appropriate amount of money on his table, Hyungwon glanced one last time at the young server before quietly placing a large, bulky watch atop his payment. Standing briskly, Hyungwon straightened out his suit jacket and turned to leave the café. The server would find the watch just fine; Changkyun’s face had proven that.

Hyungwon had another young soul to visit, this one a centerpiece for his most challenging test. He had heard about this particular incident from a passing conversation during his earliest travels and knew that he would have to use it to his testing advantage. Now all that was left was to push the pieces into place.

* * *

**Year 2015**

Kihyun reached across the center console and smacked Jooheon’s arm as their laughter filled up the warm atmosphere of the car. Some up and coming pop song played amicably in the background, the volume low so the two young university boys could converse comfortably.

“You’re crazy, man!” Kihyun laughed, settling back into his seat and shaking his head fondly. “Professor Lee isn’t going to let you get away with pulling something like that in her class. How are you even still allowed to be in school?”

“I’m just that charming,” Jooheon said mockingly, grinning large and easy as he took a moment to glance sideways at Kihyun. The road stretched before them was open and empty, a few construction cones lined along the edge of the road for a short stretch before ending abruptly.

Jooheon pulled the car over near a familiar piece of sidewalk that wound down towards a rickety pier that had existed for years. It was familiar to them, a place they often frequented whenever they had the chance to drive by. Without needing to converse, Kihyun and Jooheon scrambled eagerly from the car once it had been brought to a stop, racing each other childishly down to the sandy stretch of beach that surrounded the little pier.

They spent a short amount of time chasing one another through the sand, throwing rocks into the surf, and leaping at each other to try and catch the other off guard. Breathing hard, Jooheon tossed his arm amicably across Kihyun’s shoulders as they trudged back up towards the waiting car. Clamoring back into the car once they got there, Jooheon urged the engine to life and pulled back out onto the road. They continued their journey for a while, tossing stories of their lives at university back and forth.

Kihyun went to a university in the same city as Jooheon, so they saw each other often enough, but there were always still things to catch up on. They were both heading home for semester break, Jooheon offering to drop Kihyun off before he continued on his own way home a few miles further outside the city.

“Is this whole road under construction or something? There’s so many cones but hardly any equipment,” Kihyun observed, twisting to look at the smattering of traffic cones filing away behind them. 

“Don’t question it, hyung,” Jooheon laughed easily. “As long as we aren’t stuck in traffic for it, they can do whatever they want to the roads.”

Guiding the car over to the side of the road, Jooheon reached over the console to give Kihyun an awkwardly positioned hug. “I’ll pick you up the day before classes start again, okay? Our families should have dinner sometime over break, though. My mom has been asking about your mom ever since her ankle surgery.”

Kihyun chuckled and reached into the backseat to pull his bag into his lap. Jooheon’s mom was a sweet woman, and his mom had been friends with Jooheon’s mom for ages. Their friendship was part of the reason Kihyun knew Jooheon so well.

“Sure thing, Jooheon. I’ll text you, okay?” Kihyun got out of the car and hefted his bag over his shoulder before shutting the door again. Jooheon started to pull away from the curb and Kihyun watched him go, waving after him before turning his back to start the trek down to his nearby neighborhood.

Kihyun had barely taken ten steps when there was a horrific screeching noise followed by a sickening series of crunches from the road behind him. Heart leaping to his throat in shock, Kihyun whirled around and froze. Lying in the middle of the road upside down and completely crushed at the top was the very same car Kihyun had just climbed out of. 

The trunk of the car had popped open, Jooheon’s belongings spilling freely into the road and some of them damaged beyond recognition or repair. Bits of the shattered head and tail lights lay strewn in a path of telltale destruction from the ruined car, oil and gasoline mingling lethargically into larger puddles and trailing from what was left of the vehicle. Part of the rear bumper had been thrown so far from the wreckage that Kihyun couldn’t help but wonder how light it must be to have gone so far.

The shock faded slowly at first and then abruptly left Kihyun’s system, leaving him gasping in a desperate breath of air as he stumbled forward, bag dropping from his shoulder as a scream ripped painfully from his throat.

“No!” Tears sprung up in blurry pools in Kihyun’s eyes as his feet carried him numbly at a sprint towards the car. “Jooheon!”

* * *

**Year 2017**

Kihyun stretched his arms long over his head; his back popped satisfyingly before he slumped forwards again, the memories of Jooheon’s fatal crash flashing in his mind’s eye again. He really needed to stop dozing off at work, because it always ended with him replaying that afternoon unwillingly.

He missed Jooheon. Kihyun had dropped out after Jooheon died, unable to finish the semester when the grief for his friend consumed his every waking moment. Somehow, Kihyun had managed to drag himself from the house after a year of mourning and found work as a desk attendant at a pawnshop near his hometown. It was quiet and lonely – exactly what Kihyun had been looking for. He needed the solitude and the silence during work because he got too easily overwhelmed when things got too loud. His parents worried endlessly about him. Jooheon’s parents worried too, apparently. Jooheon’s mother and his own mother called him at least twice a week to ask after his health and how his financial situation was.

Kihyun was surviving, and he wanted to be alone in all honesty. But he loved both mothers too much to turn down either of their calls.

Running a tired hand down his face, Kihyun tried to focus his mind elsewhere, not really feeling like crying over his late friend during work. It had been two years since Jooheon died and Kihyun still found it hard to get through each day without him texting Kihyun at least once.

A soft knock pulled Kihyun from his wandering thoughts, startling him, as he hadn’t even heard the door to the shop open. The window he sat behind at the desk was barred and blurry, a small semi-circular opening the only way Kihyun could communicate with customers. Of course, he also had the four-picture security monitor to go off of, but when he stole a quick glance at it, the man standing at the window had positioned himself perfectly so that Kihyun could not see his face. Looking again at the small opening, all Kihyun could discern was a well-tailored, off-grey suit as a large hand slid a strange looking wristwatch through the little opening. Kihyun reached for the device, wondering if his boss had anything in the database like this so he could give the customer the appropriate amount for it.

“It’s all yours,” the customer spoke and – _oh_. Kihyun hadn’t expected his voice to be so soft.

“W-Wait,” Kihyun called, hand reaching for the strange little watch. His fingers curled around the device, startled that the thing seemed to thrum slightly with warmth and heat, almost like it were alive. Bending to peer through the semicircular window, Kihyun watched the man leave from behind – his figure long and slender, chestnut brown hair styled and neat – before he ducked out of the door and vanished from Kihyun’s view.

Looking down at the watch, Kihyun couldn’t help but feel flustered. What was he supposed to do with this thing? He couldn’t register it in the shop’s log, he had no information on the customer and he had left without taking money for it. Besides that, the man had said that the watch was for Kihyun. Frowning, he started absently twisting at one of the two dials on the side of the watch.

Blinking in surprise, Kihyun watched as the heavy metal bead that designated the year as 2017 twisted with the movement of the dial and read 2016. Giving the dial another little twist, Kihyun felt the dial click soundly beneath his finger as the display read 2015.

The screeching sounds of Jooheon’s car crash echoed in Kihyun’s mind, the date and time displayed on the watch permanently etched into Kihyun’s memory as the horrific numerical stamp when he had lost his best friend. This had to be some kind of sick joke. The watch now displayed the exact time Kihyun despised, despite the fact that today wasn’t even the anniversary of Jooheon’s death.

Frowning that much harder, Kihyun angrily pushed down on the little dial he had twisted, not really expecting much of anything to happen.

His gut wrenched and felt like it had been pulled from his body as the world suddenly spun sideways on its axis before abruptly going black.

* * *

**Year 2017**

Minhyuk glanced up at the sound of the café doorbell chiming; a grin working it’s way onto his lips as the expectation of a new customer to greet. Instead of seeing a new face or a regular entering the café, Minhyuk caught the barest glimpse of the well-dressed customer he had served a few minutes ago ducking out of view. Looking quickly to the vacated table, Minhyuk shrugged and made his way over to clean it off.

Service had been slow today; the middle of the week and the middle of the workday were never a busy time. Most people didn’t need a cup of coffee around lunchtime to get through their day. Humming quietly to himself as Minhyuk approached the table, he was startled to find a bulky watch laying on top of the customer’s due for the coffee. Picking it up gingerly, Minhyuk examined the watch for a moment before turning to walk briskly out the front door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the customer so he could return the watch.

Stepping out into the bright sunlight, Minhyuk blinked against the glare for a moment before looking right and left. The customer was gone from sight, nowhere to be found on the long stretch of street in either direction.

Sighing, Minhyuk slipped the watch into his apron pocket and resolved to hold onto it, hoping that maybe the man would come back within the day or even the week, looking for it.

All throughout the rest of his day, the watch rested heavily in Minhyuk’s apron pocket, a reminder of the strange man and the odd bulky device he had left behind. At the end of his shift, Minhyuk went about his business, locking up the café and dropping the heavy wristwatch onto the counter before he hung up his apron. Hefting the odd device between his hands as Minhyuk locked the front door of the café, he started to look at it a little more closely. Curiously, he started twisting one of the dials around as he walked towards the nearby bus stop. The dials showing the year on the watch face clicked heavily as he wound the date backwards.

Arriving at the bus stop, Minhyuk glanced around at the otherwise empty sidewalk before glancing down at the watch again. It was a curious little device. The bulk of it was the large watch face, featuring a large spread of four numbers to make up the year and a much smaller face worked into it that looked like a regular watch. There were other odd symbols and smaller clock looking faces on the device, but Minhyuk couldn’t seem to make sense of them.

Holding the device up a little, he squinted at the display in the dim glow of the nearby streetlamps. His fingers fumbled and fiddled a little with the device, one finger slipping and contracting in an effort to save the watch from falling. He involuntarily pressed down on the knob he had been fiddling with earlier, the year displayed flashing in Minhyuk’s vision as his stomach clenched and lurched suddenly as the world went spinning wildly into darkness around him.

* * *

**Year 2047**

Wonho flopped down into his favorite, worn chair with exhaustion. His back was sore again; the familiar burn in all of his muscles like an old friend at this point in his travels. Huffing out a quiet laugh, Wonho stretched a little in his seat and was comforted by the familiar weight on his wrist.

_Use it wisely,_ the Creator’s voice echoed softly in Wonho’s memories. His nose scrunched a little in disdain at the faded sound of that man’s voice. He _had_ used it wisely, but he had also used it carelessly. Now things were a mess and Wonho was partially to blame for that.

Regardless of that fact, he continued to mess with things, travelling wherever and whenever he pleased. Of course, he only ever really travelled to one place these days. And it was always worth the risk.

_“Time warp is not allowed,”_ a robotic feminine voice spoke suddenly, echoing throughout the city over the din of sirens and shouting. Wonho glanced at the window and tipped his head back with a huff of annoyance. Damn laws. Damn Enforcers.

_“Do not take any watches from…”_ Wonho tuned out the voice and glanced down again at the watch wrapped snugly around his wrist. Smirking he tugged it off his wrist and held it firmly in his hand. He set to work, adjusting the dials to read the date and time that he knew by heart at this point. It wasn’t hard to keep track of which day he had to travel to after he had been doing this for so long. Looking one last time at the murky window in his loft, Wonho pressed his lips together firmly and sent up a quick prayer for another safe journey, for not just him, but the person he was going to see as well.

Pressing down confidently on the dial, Wonho braced himself for the familiar tug in his gut and closed his eyes against the whirling, disorienting darkness that followed.

Seconds later, Wonho opened his eyes with a quiet huff and shook off the dredges of dizziness and rolled out the odd sensation in his shoulders that came with travelling through decades.

“You made it,” a warm, familiar voice spoke deeply behind Wonho.

“Always,” Wonho grinned, twisting around to flash his warm grin towards his friend. “I made you a promise, didn’t I?”

“That you did,” Wonho’s friend grinned back at him, standing from his knelt position on the floor. “And you’ve never broken it.”

“I don’t plan to,” Wonho said, voice softer than before and full of sincerity. “Not if I can help it.”

The two of them shared a moment, watching the other with earnest fondness before the other stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Wonho’s shoulder.

“Let’s get you ready for sparring. I can’t wait to kick your ass again.”

“Hyung,” Wonho griped at the teasing note in his friend’s voice even as he leaned into the familiar weight of that sturdy hand.

“I told you not to call me that,” the young man frowned. “It’s weird given how much time is between us. Just speak informally.”

“Fine, Hyunwoo,” Wonho relented with a mockingly exasperated sigh. “But I’m still offended that you think you can kick my ass that easily. I’ve been getting better!”

“True,” Hyunwoo chuckled. “But you still suck compared to me. So yes, I will be kicking your ass again today.”

“Rude,” Wonho pouted, allowing Hyunwoo to steer him over to the storage cabinet where all the gear for Hyunwoo’s sport was stored. Hyunwoo opened up the cabinet, the slightly musty smell of aged, worn equipment rushing over the two of them pleasantly. Wonho breathed in deeply and allowed some of the ever-present tension in his shoulders to fade. His time was terrifying, having to consistently watch his own back for Enforcers and danger in general. The economy was unstable and continuously spiraling downwards, meaning more and more people were becoming desperate to get their hands on anything that might alleviate their troubles, even if it meant killing someone.

Wonho’s fingers curled possessively, protectively, around the large watch as he soaked in the comforting sight of Hyunwoo’s broad shoulders in front of him. Wonho smiled small and secret, restraining himself from reaching out to brush his fingers across Hyunwoo’s back.

Hyunwoo turned and held up the familiar kendo gear in Wonho’s direction with a smirk dancing across his plump lips.

“Ready?”

* * *

**Year 2015**

Kihyun stumbled into existence, his free hand automatically lifting to clutch at his head where a painful ache spread rapidly across his brow. It took him a moment to recover, looking up through a painful haze at the road around him.

“Wait…what?” Kihyun muttered, remembering abruptly that he had just been sitting behind the window at the pawnshop. He now found himself standing in the middle of a road littered with construction equipment, cones lining the edges of the road in warning to passing drivers.

Glancing around again, Kihyun froze when he spotted a painfully familiar looking road sign nearby. Whirling around, Kihyun felt his breath catch in his chest with a hitch as his eyes welled with fresh tears.

“No way,” he muttered to himself in disbelief.

A car drove past him, sleek, black, and oh so familiar and – no Kihyun had to be imagining things. There was no way this was real. Jooheon could not be driving that car; he couldn’t be doing anything anymore. Jooheon was—

_Driving right past Kihyun in that god forsaken car._

“Jooheon!” Kihyun screamed, his body moving without him telling it to, chasing desperately after the car that was about to kill his best friend right in front of him all over again. He couldn’t watch this happen again, he couldn’t let this happen again. He had to have been sent back to save Jooheon, right? This was all fate, a second chance.

“Stop!” Kihyun screamed desperately. But suddenly the car swerved dangerously and far too quickly and then it was airborne. Kihyun watched desperately as the car flipped and crunched horribly against the asphalt, Jooheon still inside and killed all over again.

“No,” Kihyun sobbed, stumbling to a stop near the car and grabbing at his hair in frustration. What was the point of being here if he was just going to watch this happen helplessly all over again? That fucking watch hadn’t helped—

_The watch._

Kihyun looked down at the bulky item still clutched desperately between his fingers and choked on a desperate sob. The one dial had changed the year, so the other dial… _yes._

Kihyun twisted the dial desperately, setting it back just enough to try again. He tried to set it back just a little further, just to get a little more time, but it seemed to stick at the exact moment Kihyun had gotten here last time. Desperate for another chance – for anything – Kihyun glanced frantically up at the wreckage one last time before jamming his finger down on the dial. His stomach lurched painfully again and Kihyun braced himself for the pain this time, hope fluttering small and anxious in his chest.

_Please,_ Kihyun begged as the world shattered into a kaleidoscope before fading to blackness.

* * *

**Year 2000**

Minhyuk stumbled forward a step, gasping a little as he did, the sensation rushing through him leaving Minhyuk feeling disoriented and unsteady. He glanced down at the watch still clutched firmly in his hand and blinked owlishly at the date displayed there. In disbelief, Minhyuk looked up and startled at realizing that he was no longer standing at the bus stop but was now in an achingly familiar alleyway back in his hometown. The same run down shops lined the narrow street, banners and cloths hanging haphazardly from the awnings above them. Breathing deeply, Minhyuk’s chest constricted at the familiarity of the smell of home.

He hadn’t been here in years. This place held fond memories for Minhyuk, but most of them had turned sour after—

“You!” A deep, threatening voice called down the alley. Minhyuk looked over sharply and found three tall men, all clad in dark suits with their eyes obscured behind large black glasses, advancing towards Minhyuk purposefully. Taking a hesitant step backwards, Minhyuk knew they were talking to him since he was the only person here; but he didn’t know why and he was suddenly terrified.

The men were taking their time, clearly in no rush and not anticipating any resistance from Minhyuk. Continuing to take stumbling steps backwards, Minhyuk’s mind tried to get him to do something, _anything_ that would get him away from these weird, terrifying people.

Stumbling back another step further, Minhyuk was on the verge of entirely panicking when a warm hand clamped down around Minhyuk’s wrist and tugged him harshly to the left. Tripping over his feet for a moment, Minhyuk gasped and quickly righted himself, allowing this newcomer to continue to pull him along, away from the mysterious men in suits.

It took him a few moments, but Minhyuk finally started to register his surroundings and the person in front of him. This alley was familiar, a distant memory from childhood but familiar all the same. The person in front of him was aged from his childhood memories but the breadth of his shoulders and warmth of his fingers were all things Minhyuk had remembered well from before they were separated.

They turned a corner and kept running, Minhyuk’s savior releasing his wrist as they began to run side by side. Stealing a glance to his left, Minhyuk confirmed his suspicions and felt his heart pull in his chest. 

_Changkyun_. 

Minhyuk wanted to throw himself at his childhood friend, wrap him up in a hug and never let him go before punching the life out of him and demanding an explanation. But a hug would do for now. Unfortunately, Minhyuk had no time for either of these options as Changkyun turned to flash Minhyuk an impish grin and urged him to keep running. 

Huffing with exhaustion, Minhyuk pushed himself to pick up the pace a little and keep in stride with Changkyun. He didn’t dare to risk a glance backwards in case those men were still behind them. 

Unsure of how long they were supposed to continue running for, Minhyuk looked around briefly and realized where they were. He reached out quickly as Changkyun slowed to take a turn and grasped his friend’s hand firmly in his own.

“Wait,” Minhyuk gasped. “Here, here, we can hide here.”

Minhyuk tugged Changkyun around a corner into a small connector alley that some might miss if they were moving too quickly. Minhyuk didn’t miss the skeptical look that Changkyun threw him, but he did let Minhyuk tug him down to sit beside him with their backs pressed against the wall.

The cheap lights in the covered alley cast a green hue across the walls, leaving Minhyuk to blink his vision into focus after being out in the harsh sunlight before this. Changkyun’s shoulder was brushing against his own as they both heaved for breath.

“What are you doing here?”

Minhyuk glanced up at Changkyun’s breathless question and raised an eyebrow in response.

“I could ask you the same thing. I haven’t seen you in almost twenty years, Changkyun. But suddenly we’re both back home and running from those men in suits and who even are they? What do they want with me? Or…with us? I don’t know, I just want to know what the hell is going on here.”

“How did you get here?” Changkyun asked, seeming to ignore most of Minhyuk’s questions and ranting.

“I don’t know!” Minhyuk exclaimed, immediately clamping a hand over his own mouth when Changkyun shot him a panicked look. Minhyuk twisted to look over his shoulder and around the corner before continuing. “I don’t know!” Minhyuk repeated in a frustrated whisper. “Some man left this watch at the café I work at and I held onto it so I could give it back. But I started messing with the dials after work and pressed one of them and now I’m here instead of there and I don’t know _why_. Also, this watch says 2000, which…is crazy. The teleportation is crazy in the first place but…there’s no way I’ve gone back seventeen years, right?”

Changkyun just looked back at Minhyuk with something akin to amused sympathy and Minhyuk couldn’t help but groan and drop his head back against the wall behind him.

“Time travel? Really? That’s all I’m going to get? Fine, fine, that’s great, whatever. Do you mind explaining what the hell you’re doing in 2000, then?” Minhyuk lolled his head sideways to look at Changkyun again.

“It’s a long story, man,” Changkyun offered as measly explanation. “But to be brief, I got tangled up with some people that I probably shouldn’t have and had to skip town and now time travel is a thing.” 

“Wow, thanks for that wonderfully detailed update,” Minhyuk deadpanned, dropping his head forward and shaking it with a soft huff of laughter. Changkyun chuckled beside him, nudging Minhyuk with his shoulder and smiling fondly at his friend.

“I missed you, hyung,” Changkyun said quietly, his voice the most sincere Minhyuk had heard from him yet. “I’m glad that you’re doing well and living freely.”

Minhyuk blinked at his junior in surprise before his expression melted into a wistful smile. “It would be better if I had you in my life, though. I’ve missed you, too. I’ve got a lot of stories to tell you when we’re not, you know, running for our lives I guess.”

Changkyun giggled at that, the sound clear and bright and heart-warming, reminding Minhyuk of the young boy he had grown up with. Changkyun’s face had lost its baby fat, his jawline was now sharper and his eyes seemed a little harder, even if they did still gleam with that mischievous light to them.

Minhyuk watched, entranced, as Changkyun tipped his head back to rest against the wall, still faintly trying to catch his breath from their mad dash earlier. He really had grown up well, looking boyishly handsome and yet still the same child Minhyuk remembered.

Suddenly Changkyun was on his feet, tugging Minhyuk along with him by the arm as he moved to dash down the alley adjacent to them. Startled, Minhyuk glanced in the direction Changkyun had been looking and felt a new surge of adrenaline course through his veins at the sight of one of the suited men heading right for them.

“Back into the fire!” Changkyun crowed over his shoulder as Minhyuk found his footing and started to dash alongside his old friend.

* * *

**Year Unknown**

Wonho stared out through the mask at Hyunwoo standing across from him. Their bamboo swords were crossed between them, fingers tense around the grip in anticipation of moving into the fight. They had sparred like this several times before, Wonho watching Hyunwoo progress further and further in his skill over the time he spent travelling between Hyunwoo and his time.

Hyunwoo twitched first, his sword moving suddenly and coming for Wonho, who managed to counter in time before the two fell into a series of movements trying to knock the other out of the fight. Wonho felt his breathing increase steadily as the spar drew on. Hyunwoo’s lips were just barely visible through the mask, and Wonho could tell that he was smirking. He knew he had the upper hand against Wonho.

Huffing out a soft laugh at Hyunwoo’s cockiness, Wonho planted his feet firmly and moved in to strike at Hyunwoo.

He should have known that would be his downfall.

Hyunwoo easily dodged Wonho’s advance and struck him with his bamboo weapon, effectively ending the spar. Wonho dropped his own weapon and huffed out a short laugh.

“You get better every time I come here. You’re going to win that championship for sure, Hyunwoo. If there’s anyone out there better than you, I’d be surprised.”

“Shut up, Wonho,” Hyunwoo laughed as he undid the laces securing his helmet and pulled it off. Shaking his hair into place after his headgear was off, Hyunwoo smirked in Wonho’s direction.

“You’ve gotten slower. You’re younger than me but I think you’re turning into an old man first. How is that even possible?”

“Yah!” Wonho shouted around a laugh. “Don’t be mean! I don’t practice nearly as much as you do. Now help me get out of this thing.”

Wonho turned around as Hyunwoo shook his head with a smile and moved to undo the laces that held Wonho’s chest plate in place. Once he had them loosened, Wonho turned around and returned the favor for Hyunwoo. Chest plates now both loosened up, the exhaustion of their prolonged training session finally caught up with them. Skin gleaming with sweat, Hyunwoo and Wonho both sat down on the floor and lay back with exhausted huffs. They were facing different directions, but their heads were near one another’s, the others labored breathing in their ears. 

“You really are amazing, hyung,” Wonho said quietly. 

“I told you not to call me hyung,” Hyunwoo turned his head to the side to look at Wonho. “We should just use each others names.”

“So picky,” Wonho laughed and rolled his head to look at Hyunwoo as well. Their friendship was an easy one, and Wonho was grateful that Hyunwoo existed. He offered companionship and an escape from the reality that unfortunately awaited Wonho upon his return to his own time. Once, he had gone looking for information about Hyunwoo in his own time after a visit and hadn’t particularly liked what he found. So he had stopped his search halfway through and decided to just focus on the Hyunwoo that he knew to exist.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” Wonho grunted, forcing his aching muscle to get himself upright. “I’m starting to run out of time here, unfortunately.”

Hyunwoo’s expression fell a little at the reminder that Wonho had limited time to spend with him. But he nodded anyway and gestured him lazily towards the showers.

“You smell so a shower would probably be a good idea.”

“Brat,” Wonho teased, lightly kicking at Hyunwoo’s leg as he passed him.

Yes. This Hyunwoo was all that Wonho needed.

* * *

**Year 2015**

Kihyun had lost count of how many times he had reset the dial on the watch. Each time he had failed, watching desperately as Jooheon’s car flipped and crashed and shattered over and over again. He was beginning to lose hope, but Kihyun continued to reset the watch anyway. Despite the dial refusing to turn past the moment Kihyun appeared here the first time, despite never having enough time to stop Jooheon, Kihyun kept trying.

Stumbling a little when the world went from a kaleidoscope to a solid image, Kihyun’s legs started moving of their own accord before he was even oriented to his surroundings.

Running fast and desperate after Jooheon’s car that was steadily drawing away from him, Kihyun shouted in frustration and tried to move faster. The soles of his feet ached from continuously pounding against the pavement and his muscles burned with fatigue. But he kept going, he kept pushing, he had this chance to save his best friend and he wasn’t going to let it slip away from him.

A man in a tailored grey suit walked by Kihyun as he sprinted down the asphalt and suddenly the breath left Kihyun’s chest. His memory flashed back to the blurred image, the one snatched glance that Kihyun had of the man who had left the watch with Kihyun in the first place.

“You!” Kihyun suddenly gasped, skidding to a stop and pivoting around to chase after the man. He caught up quickly, cutting in front of him and staring up at him with a mix of desperation and frustration.

The man regarded Kihyun with a blank yet unimpressed gaze, raising an eyebrow at Kihyun’s labored breathing. Distantly, the sound of Jooheon’s car wrecking for what felt like the millionth time echoed down the empty road as Kihyun continued to gasp and wheeze.

“Please,” Kihyun begged, feeling his eyes begin to sting with tears. “Please, you have to help me. You gave me this watch so that means you can help me save Jooheon. Please, please just help me.”

The man glanced down the road at the wreckage, a soft sigh leaving his plump lips as he turned back to Kihyun. He almost looked annoyed and it started a fire in Kihyun’s gut.

“You failed in the chance I gave you,” the man spoke in that incredibly soft voice of his. “Why should I help you when you are clearly not worth my time?”

“Please!” Kihyun shouted, dropping to his knees with exhaustion. He looked up at the man, anger and despair churning uncomfortably in his gut. “Please, I will do anything! Just save Jooheon!”

“Anything?” The man asked, his voice still barely above what Kihyun regarded as a whisper.

Nodding frantically, Kihyun tried to keep his tears at bay. He didn’t want to cry in front of this bastard that had started all of this. If he could just get him to help him save Jooheon, then everything would be fine. He would pay any price to just save his friend who hadn’t deserved to die the way he did.

“I suppose…there is one feature on my watch. It would be interesting to test it in this situation. But are you sure that you’re willing to do absolutely anything?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Kihyun stressed. “I would do anything to save him.”

“Suit yourself,” the man spoke softly, his slender fingers reaching for a watch around his wrist, identical to the one Kihyun was gripping like a lifeline. He fiddled idly with a dial that Kihyun’s didn’t have before giving Kihyun one last glance. Then he pressed down on the button firmly and Kihyun sucked in a surprised breath when the world once again turned into a kaleidoscope before his very eyes.

Kihyun gasped when the world abruptly shifted back into focus, his hands scrambling for purchase around the steering wheel in front of him. He had only a second to be surprised that he was behind the wheel of car before a sense of weightlessness pulled at his gut. The car was flipping, the top crunching dangerously as it struck the pavement. Kihyun realized what was happening just as the car flipped a second time and the world around him went dark on impact.

* * *

**Year Unknown/Year 2047**

Wonho came out of the shower, toweling his hair dry and plopping down next to Hyunwoo in the middle of the practice floor. Hyunwoo was now in a tracksuit, looking content and smiled fondly at Wonho when he joined him. It was that smile, that carefree attitude that kept Wonho coming back. Hyunwoo was easy to talk to, almost always levelheaded and never teased Wonho for anything that he shared with Hyunwoo. 

Wonho wanted to say something, and he opened his mouth to do so, but suddenly the watch in his hand made a frantic little noise and Wonho sighed. He and Hyunwoo both glanced at the little device quietly.

“Time to go?” Hyunwoo asked quietly.

“Time to go,” Wonho confirmed, voice just as quiet. He secured his watch around his wrist and fiddled with the dials.

“You’re going to come back tomorrow, right?” Hyunwoo asked quickly before Wonho could even stand up. “You won’t forget?”

Wonho offered Hyunwoo a little smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it. The only way I wouldn’t come is if I lost this watch right here. Nothing else could stop me from visiting.”

Seemingly appeased, Hyunwoo nodded with a small smile and didn’t protest further as Wonho pushed himself to his feet and started to walk off. A few steps away from Hyunwoo, he pressed his finger firmly down on one of the dials and vanished from Hyunwoo’s time.

Appearing in his own time, Wonho startled when his kaleidoscope vision solidified and he found three time agents striding quickly towards him. How had they gotten into his apartment? How had they known to be here? No one knew that he travelled like this, because there was no one in Wonho’s life to share that information with.

Turning to flee, Wonho feels two sets of hands wrap firmly around his arms and drag him backwards. They force him into a nearby chair and hold him down, his struggling completely ineffective. Their hands are like iron clamps around his arms, restricting his movements despite the strength Wonho knows he possesses. Panic flutters high and rapid in his chest as he continues to try and break free.

“No! Let me go! I haven’t done anything wrong!” Wonho shouts desperately.

“Lee Hoseok,” one of the agents spoke, making Wonho freeze. They knew his real name, the one he hadn’t used – hadn’t heard in fact – in almost ten years. There was no way they could have figured that out, he had destroyed Lee Hoseok and created Wonho from the ashes. But yet, they still knew.

“You have been found guilty of illegal possession of a time travelling and altering device. You will be stripped of said device and await further trial and instruction.” The agent’s voice was monotone and cold, a chill seeping into Wonho’s bones as a cold hand wrapped around his, yanking his arm up so the agent could tear the watch from Wonho’s wrist.

They released his arms and turned to leave. Wonho wanted to tackle them, to take the watch back and flee for good. He didn’t know how he would, but he would find a way. He couldn’t lose that watch; losing the watch meant loosing Hyunwoo.

But the agents were already gone.

“No,” Wonho whispered to himself, his broken voice the only sound in his dismal apartment. Hanging his head and slumping back in his chair, Wonho raked his fingers angrily through his hair.

“Hyunwoo,” he murmured, eyes squeezing shut in defeat. “I’m sorry.”

* * *

**Year 2017**

Jooheon jerked awake, his neck and back screaming in protest from the awkward position he had been sleeping in against the desk of the pawnshop office. Sighing as he stretched a little, Jooheon leaned forward on his elbows and glanced at the picture to his left.

He felt a rush of familiar guilt and sadness wash over him as Jooheon stared at Kihyun’s smiling face. He should have been in that car with Kihyun, he shouldn’t have let him drive off on his own, but Jooheon couldn’t have known that the car would flip and Kihyun would be gone forever.

“I miss you, buddy,” Jooheon said softly, eyes watering as the door to the shop opened quietly. Glancing up, Jooheon waited for the customer to approach the window, glad for the distraction from the sadness that encompassed him whenever he thought of Kihyun.

The man, whose face Jooheon had yet to catch a glimpse of, wore a immaculately tailored grey suit and was tall and slender. Jooheon guessed that he was probably pretty handsome. But before he could even see the man, let alone speak to him, the door to the shop was wrenched open and a younger looking teenager came rushing in. He grabbed the man’s wrist and forcefully yanked him back out of the shop.

The door closed with a bang and Jooheon stared after the pair of unknown people who had just left.

“What the hell was that about?” Jooheon muttered. Deciding that he really didn’t want to get involved until it compromised the shop, Jooheon turned back to his desk and tried to find something to distract him. 

* * *

**Year 2000**

“Do you think we lost them?” Minhyuk panted, leaning against the wall opposite of Changkyun as they tried to catch their breath. He had lost track of how long they had been running from those guys in the suits, but he was starting to get tired of this chase. Changkyun shrugged and huffed out a tired sounding laugh.

“Remember when we were kids and we used to run around like this for fun? Now it’s just exhausting.”

“Well,” Minhyuk sighed, smiling as well. “We were doing it for fun back then. So it wasn’t as tiring.”

“Yeah I guess so,” Changkyun chuckled. “We should probably—”

“There!”

“Shit,” Changkyun cursed, reaching out and grabbing Minhyuk’s wrist again. “They found us. Come on!”

Minhyuk groaned quietly at the thought of more running, but he would rather run than be caught by those creepy men, so he let Changkyun tug him along down the alleyways until they collapsed between an old bike leaned up against the wall and a bulky trashcan to try and hide and catch their breath.

Something in Minhyuk’s hand bumped against his thigh as they sat down, and he glanced down at the bulky watch he had all but forgotten about until now. Tucking himself up against the wall in a crouch, Minhyuk felt a burst of hope spark in his chest. Twisting the dial to change the year on the watch face frantically, Minhyuk prayed to whatever deity was listening that this would work.

Changkyun beside him tipped his head back against the wall and panted for breath as quietly as possible.

“What are you doing?” Changkyun whispered around his labored breathing, tipping his head sideway against the wall to look at Minhyuk.

“Hopefully getting us out of here,” Minhyuk whispered back. “Just give me a second to get this right.”

“Hyung— ” Changkyun started to say, only to be cut off by the sudden appearance of the three men in suits that had been chasing them. Before Minhyuk or Changkyun could react, they were standing in front of the pair, who still sat helplessly on the ground against the wall. They couldn’t escape this time, and Changkyun pressed himself against the wall, scooting closer to Minhyuk as he did.

Getting the dial in place, Minhyuk reached over and grabbed Changkyun’s hand firmly. Their hands shook with how hard they held onto one another, but Minhyuk would be damned if he let go of his friend. He couldn’t – no – he _wouldn’t_ lose him again.

Not this time.

“Hang on,” Minhyuk murmured under his breath. The man in the front closest to them level a strange looking gun in Minhyuk and Changkyun’s direction. His face remained impassive, despite the fact that he was about to kill them. Minhyuk felt his heart rate pick up impossibly. Hoping desperately that his plan would work, he pressed down firmly on the dial, his grip on Changkyun’s hand firm as the man pulled the trigger and the shot rang out.

Just before the world shattered into a kaleidoscope pattern, Minhyuk felt his heart drop into his stomach as Changkyun’s hand was wrenched free from his.

Changkyun watched Minhyuk vanish from existence before his very eyes, the shot the agent fired off ricocheting off the stone wall beside him way too close to where Minhyuk had been for Changkyun’s comfort. But his friend was safe now, and Changkyun knew that he had to take care of this before more of these stupid time agents showed up. He couldn’t risk them going after Minhyuk again.

Standing leisurely, Changkyun brushed off his pants and leveled a ferocious glare at the three agents in front of him.

“You shouldn’t have messed with us, assholes,” Changkyun spoke in a dangerously low and silky voice. For the first time, the agents showed some flicker of emotion as they stepped back in what was probably a mix of shock and fear.

“You’ll pay for this,” Changkyun promised before lunging at the men with his fist curled and ready to beat these men senseless.

* * *

**Year 2017**

Minhyuk stumbled, hunched over with the sound of a gunshot still ringing in his ears. His head spun with nausea as the world attempted to right itself around him. He still felt exhausted and disoriented from running around with Changkyun from the men chasing them, but as he looked around, he saw none of that now.

“Changkyun,” Minhyuk breathed, breath hitching in his throat as he spun in a clumsy circle, looking frantically for his friend. Deep down, he knew that Changkyun had let go of his hand before they had been able to travel through time properly. That meant that Changkyun had most likely been left behind with those agents and their gun.

“No,” Minhyuk gasped, a sob choking him as it stuck in his chest. “No…Changkyun. Oh god.”

Looking back down at the watch still clutched in his hand, Minhyuk wondered if he could possibly get back to the right moment in time so he could grab Changkyun and then leave again. But all hope of that was shattered when he realized that the surface of the watch was partially shattered from what was probably debris from whatever the bullet had hit before he made the jump through time. When he tried to twist one of the dials, it was jammed in place, refusing to move even the slightest bit to give Minhyuk some kind of hope.

He had lost Changkyun again.

Minhyuk tried to hold of tears as he tucked the shattered watch into his backpack just as the bus pulled up to the stop.

* * *

**Year 2017**

Hyungwon stumbled as he was dragged forcefully from the little pawnshop he had just entered. Turning quickly to whoever had dared lay a hand on him, the protest and insult he had prepared died on his lips as he took in the culprit’s furious expression.

“Changkyun,” Hyungwon said smoothly, brushing out the crease in his jacket caused by the younger’s rough treatment. “What a surprise.”

“Hyungwon,” Changkyun seethed. “What do you think you’re doing? Haven’t you fucked with their lives enough? You had them switch places and now you’re just going to, what? Make them go through it again and again and just fuck up their timeline even more?”

“I see your manners haven’t improved over the years,” Hyungwon commented drily.

“No thanks to you!” Changkyun spat. “You uproot my entire life for the sake of your little experiment and then you leave me with a watch and nothing else to just fend for myself? Did you know that Minhyuk got his hands on one of your little toys? Did you leave it for him? Did you know it almost got him _killed_?”

“I thought I told you that attachments were dangerous,” Hyungwon stated calmly. “You have brought this upon yourself in a way.”

“Minhyuk wasn’t even involved in any of this until you went and toyed with him!” Changkyun shouted, eyes dancing with fury. “Why did you bring him into this? What did you get out of it? If you had wanted to see me, you could have just called me or left a sign or something! You didn’t have to go after him!”

“Is that why you tipped off the time agents as to my location? As some sort of petty revenge? How well did that work out for you since they ended up coming after you as well?”

“I don’t care what happens to me,” Changkyun fumed, his voice dangerously low now. “All I want is for Minhyuk to be safe and for you to get what you deserve.”

“Good luck with that, little one,” Hyungwon smirked, turning to walk away from Changkyun.

“Thank you,” Changkyun said smugly, watching as a trio of time agents appeared in front of the unassuming Hyungwon, grabbing onto the man’s wrists and wrenching the time travel device from his arm. Hyungwon cried out in shock and struggled against them, turning his head to glare at Changkyun.

One of the agents walked over to him, and Changkyun pulled a watch from his pocket and handed it over easily to the agent with a nod.

“This is the timeline I belong in, and I intend to stay here with my friend.”

The agent gave Changkyun a curt nod before walking back towards Hyungwon and the other agents. Leveling one last cold glare in Hyungwon’s direction, Changkyun turned and walked off, never once looking back at Hyungwon’s angry cries before they were cut off when the agents jumped back to their own time.

* * *

**Year 2017**

Minhyuk stood staring at the coffee machine as it slowly brewed and spewed the steaming coffee into the little mug he had placed underneath the spout. Despite everything that had happened a couple days ago, work was still the same and offered some semblance of normal to Minhyuk’s mixed and confused thoughts.

He missed Changkyun even more now that he had seen him again. He purposefully avoided thoughts of what might have happened to his childhood friend after leaving him behind with those agents and the gun.

Those thoughts didn’t exactly help Minhyuk sleep at night.

Heaving out a soft sigh, Minhyuk started to prepare the coffee for the customer who was patiently waiting at their table. Minhyuk tried to focus entirely on his task, but it was getting harder to do so as he kept finding his thoughts wandering back to Changkyun.

As he was managing to finish the order, the bell of the front door chimed cheerfully. Turning his head enough to call out a somewhat cheerful welcome to the customer, Minhyuk kept his eyes on the coffee mug in front of him.

“I’ll be right with you, customer,” he promised. “I just need to finish this order.”

“That’s alright, hyung,” a familiar voice spoke from behind him. “Take your time.”

Going rigid with shock, Minhyuk slowly turned around and stared at the impish, grinning face on the other side of the counter. Minhyuk’s heart soared in his chest and he hardly dared to hope he wasn’t dreaming.

In a soft, awe voice, Minhyuk choked out in a whisper, “Changkyun?”


End file.
